David Evans

Instructor of Saxophone

David Evans began playing professionally in his native Alabama in his early teens, traveling and performing throughout the Southeast. A scholarship to Loyola University brought him to New Orleans where he quickly became a busy commercial and jazz musician, performing with Pete Fountain, B. B. King, Mose Allison, Nicholas Payton, Brian Blade, Johnny Vidacovich, Luther Kent, Matt Lemmler, Johnny Mathis, Gladys Knight, The Four Tops, The Temptations, and many others.

From 1986 to 1994, David was musical director onboard the National Historic Landmark steamboat Delta Queen, performing with and managing his band, writing and arranging musical shows, and researching, creating and presenting special lecture/performances on different periods of American music for groups from The Smithsonian, Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi.

He has arranged music for recordings by Rebecca Kilgore, Retta Christie, Lynn Darroch, Johnny Martin, Eddie Parente, Armonica Gilford, Anandi Gefroh, Jonathan Swanson, Bill Hughes and others, arranged music for Mahalia Jackson’s 100th Birthday concert in New Orleans, and composed the theme music for the syndicated radio program “On the Road with Rebecca Kilgore.”

David’s CD “I Didn’t Know About You,” with Mike Wofford, Bob Magnusson and Joe La Barbera, was released nationally to excellent reviews. He is a featured soloist on the Sony/BMG release “Histoire D’un Amour” by French pop star Dany Brillant, and is a member of long standing in the Chuck Israels Orchestra, whose 2013 release “Second Wind” earned a 4½ star review in DownBeat. He can be heard on four CDs from ’20s revival band The Midnight Serenaders, two CDs from award-winning songwriter Martin Zarzar, the latest release from phenomenal singer Storm Large, and many other recordings from a variety of Northwest musicians.

David has taught at Marylhurst University, Western Oregon University, and at Lewis and Clark since ’04-’05.